Locomotive-boiler furnace.



C. B. MOORE.

LOCOMOTIVE BOILER FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 26. 1914.

Patented May 4, 1915.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES 3B. MOORE, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO AMERICAN ARCH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented y 4, 1915.

Original application filed December 18, 1911, Serial N 0. 666,347. Divided and this application filed October 26, 1914. Serial No. 868,650.

. arches for the fireboxes of locomotives.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 666,347, filed December 18, 1911.

The general objects of my invention are to provide a refractory arch which can be easily and quickly installed in a locomotive firebox without the necessity of any preparatory work being done on the box; to,

provide an arch which shall be of light weight and low cost; to provide an arch which shall be easy to repair and parts of which can be readily removed to afford easy access to firebox sides and to the flue sheet for necewary repairs thereto; and to provide an arch of a form that shall materially assist in the admixing of the fire box gases.

A special object of my invention is to provide an arch of the character here outlined which shall be particularly adapted for installation in locomotive boilers which are equipped with one or more inclined circulating tubes.

My invention consists in various novel constructions and arrangements and combinations of parts by which the above objects are attained, together with others hereinafter appearing, and all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawings, which form a part of this specification, I have illustrated a. preferred form of my invention, and have illustrated its application to locomotive fire boxes provided with widely separated circulating tubes.

Figure 1 of said (lltLWIIlfi is a central 1on 'tudinal sectional view of a locomotive firex equipped with a refractory arch, the whole embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the firebox showing a top plan view of the arch and taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a. transverse sectional view of the firebox on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a. view in perspective of one of the interlocking panel bricks; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the interlocking span bricks.

My invention is capable of embodiment in arches occupying various positions in the firebox and having different specific functions and, although I have confined the illustration of the invention to so-called front arches, it should at once be understood that my invention is not thus limited.

A so-called front arch usually occupies an inclined position in the firebox extending from side to side therein and having its forward end in abutment with or arranged close to the flue sheet. The principal function of these arches is to deflect the firebox gases out of their direct line of flow from the grate to the flues and not only cause them to travel back and forth in the firebox and thereby distribute their heat to the whole interior surface of the firebox but also to retain them in the firebox a sufiicient time to permit complete combustion to take place before the gases escape through the fines.

A locomotive boiler firebox, as illustrated in the drawings, is made up of a flue sheet 2, side sheets 3, 3, a crown sheet 4:, and a rear sheet 5. The firebox has a grate 6 and the rear sheet is provided with a fuel door or opening 7. Flues 8 lead forward from the flue sheet. The firebox illustrated is provided with two inclined water circulating tubes extending from the lower portion of the flue sheet to the upper portion of the rear sheet and serving to increase the circulation of water between the front and rear water legs of the boiler.

A particular feature of m invention resides in an arch which is ma 0 up of a num ber of individual bricks of several different shapes and formed to be supported upon and by the circulating tubes and the side sheets of the firebox. These individual bricks are limited in size by the features that they shall not be too heavy to be handled and placed in position with ease and that they should be small enough to be readily passed through the fire door.

The arch which I'have illustrated in the i. 6., supporting bricks which rest upon and span the tubes, and cover or panel bricks which space the supporting bricks apart and substantially close the openings between them. I arrange the supporting bricks A in transverse rows or lines across the firebox suitably spaced apart to receive and support the panel bricks B. The dimensions of the supporting bricks are determined by the spacing of the tubes in the firebox. Where the spaces to be spanned are comparatively wide, I use two of the bricks placing them together in the form of an inverted V and thus forming a self-supporting span or arch. The length of these bricks being determined by the spacing of the tubes, their cross-sectional area or their weight is determined by the features above mentioned, that is, that they shall be light enough to be readily handled and small enou h to be passed into the firebox through the uel door. I preferably form the supporting bricks substantially square in cross section, that is, making them as deep as they are wide and they are thereby given a suflicient bearing upon the tubes so that when once placed in position they rest securely without rocking on the tubes. I provide the lower ends of these bricks with sockets or grooves A, substantially fitting the curvature of the tubes and. adding to the stability of the bricks when once in position.

In the preferred form of my invention I use four of the supporting bricks in each .row or line, each of the outer bricks resting at its inner end upon a tube and'inclining upwardly and outwardly against one of the side sheets of the firebox and the middle two bricks of the row resting uponthe tubes and virtually abutting each" other substantially midway between the tubes.

only of holding the supporting bricks in their proper spaced relation and closing the openings between them, but will also perform the function of interlocking the supporting bricks in such a manner that the supporting bricks are held against relative movement, and the arch, as a whole, is securely retained in its proper working condition.

The ends of the supporting bricks A are provided with ribs or hooks A which project upwardly and extend from side to side thereof and the panel or cover bricks B are provided with downwardly projecting books or ribs B on their ends spaced apart a sufii- I interlock'the adjacent bricks together in each row of thev cient distance to span the hooks A on the abutting ends of adjacent supporting bricks. As shown in the drawings, I place one of the panel bricks B spanning each pair of the abutting ends of the supporting bricks and I proportion the width of the bricks B so that a single brick substantially fills the space between the locking panel bricks and thereby the arch is completed. I preferably form the bricks B with projecting end portions B adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the supporting bricks and thereby hold the panel bricks in position. It will now be noted that regardless of the shape of the individual bricks, the arch as a whole presents many angularly disposed surfaces and gas-mixing pockets or cavities whereby the effect of the arch in admixin the gases is greatly enhanced. I add to this function of the arch by providing the undersides of the supporting bricks with gas-mixing pockets A which extend substantially the length and width of the brick and thereby not only lighten the individual bricks but also provide them with comparatively thin depending flanges A. These flanges, being comparatively thin, quickly attain to the maximum temperature of the firebox and thereby assist in the ignition of the fuel particles and gases. I provide each of the panel bricks B with a depending portion B which projects below the upper surfaces of the supporting bricks and provides the brick with end walls or surfaces B adapted to contact with the sides of the supporting bricks and thereby hold the supporting bricks properly spaced. These depending portions are provided with gas-mixing pockets B which not only lighten the brick, but provide the arch with additional subsidiary gasmixing or commingling pockets or cavities.

In building my arches I place a row or line of the supporting bricks in position resting them upon the tubes and against the time sheet, the end bricks of the row being placed uponthe tubes and leaning against the side sheets. I then place a second line or row of the supporting bricks above and parallel with the first row and hold this bricks between those already placed and thus completely close the openings between the spans of supportin bricks. In some instances an arch forme of two rows of supporting bricks and one of panel bricks would be sufliciently high, but usually it is desired that the arch shall be higher than this construction would produce and it obviously can be completed b adding additional rows of supporting bric and panel bricks until it is as long or high as desired. Usually the arch reaches from the flue sheet to about the center of the firebox and is composed of three spans of the supporting bricks held in position by two intermediate rows of the interlocking panel bricks.

It will now be seen that an arch constructed in accordance with my invention is one in which certain portions may be readily removed without disturbing the arch as a whole when it is necessary to repair the side sheets or flue sheet of the firebox.

My arch being composed of individual bricks of a size whichare easy to handle, is one which can be placed in position with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

Another feature which is inherent in my novel form of arch is that the arch as a whole does t become a rigid mass after the manner of e ordinary arch, for the reason that the ove lapped joints between the various members of the arch do not become cemented together by the slag which forms upon the surfaces of the arch. The arch,

therefore, is in a sense flexible, in that it can adjust itself to slight changes of dimensions of the firebox without destructive disintegration.

As many modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, I do not limit or confine my invention to the specific structures herein illustrated and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A locomotive fire box arch brick of refractor material having an arch tube hearing at its end, and an upstanding interlocking rib at its top at said end.

2. A locomotive firebox arch brick of refractory material having an arch tube bearing at its end and an upstandin interlocking rib on its top at said end, sai brick containing a gas-mixing pocket or recess in its underside.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of October, 1914, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES B. MOORE.

Witnesses:

MAUD A. BOHNETT, EDWARD F. WILSON. 

